“A gateway?”
“Do you realize how far someone or thing had to come from what we call the goldilocks zone planets? Over one hundred twenty light years and that would mean technology beyond what we are even capable of imagining. ”Stated Dr Gurd of the institute of Science and Technology. “We can not assume anything positive or negative at this point in time and posturing in a defensive way may be the worst thing we could do.” He was addressing the assembled Nations Consortium along with a link to the EDF. “We can not help but be in a defensive position, that is what our ongoing mission is all about and I would think any intelligent species would recognize self preservation as a smart thing.” Stated First Admiral Scotts. The President of Americas asked, “If it turns out to be just one ship would we perhaps be able overwhelm it and then reverse engineer their tech.” President of Africans replied. “You are arrogant and assume too much! Just one ship? How do we know that just one ship could not destroy the whole planet!” Dr Gurd broke in and said, “I think we need to establish some sort of first contact protocol.” To which president of Eurasia said, “We do not have time to establish any protocol, that could takes months, we must do something now!” “Gentleman, our people have already establish a first contact procedure and will respond as soon as another message is received. We anticipate that will happen in the next 24 hours. If we do not receive a message by then we can assume captain McCord is no longer in control. Then we will assume the aliens are hostile and prepare for war.” Admiral Scotts declared. President glared at Scotts and stated, “Who are you to take charge and give orders mister, you work for us.” There was silence for one long minute and then, Commander Jalbahn replied in a quiet but firm voice. “Sirs, we are your best and only line of defense, all you can do now is pray for a peaceful outcome.” Admiral Scotts said, “End communications, EDF out.”
Up on station three the consensus was to be direct with the alien and the First Admiral had put in front of his staff. “The experts, if there is such a thing, are going for a common sense approach, They suggest we ask a few simple questions as follows: Welcome, Who are you? Why are you here? How may we help you?” The admirals staff responded, “Simple and to the point, it works, do it” The second message from Captain McCord would be there in just over one hour.
“So if I have this straight.” Said Giraffe, “You are nothing more than a free trader who ended up here by accident and now need assistance to repair your ship and find a way to get back home?” “That sums it up.” replied Zak and then added, “Even with the jump drive it would take years to get back to the core worlds.” “It will take a few more minds than just us to figure out how to use the gateway if that is what it is.” Said Giraffe then looked up, “Maybe Panther can work some of it out?” “There is no data to support gateway or black hole theory.” Stated Panther, she had been listening, “Also, there is a problem with the jump calculations to earth station three, the margin for error are above approved tolerances, too close to a gravity well in three locations.”
Giraffe answered, “What about last phase shift on reference?” Now even Zak was confused, “What you are suggesting is not part of jump calculations as we know it.” Panther then inquired, “Please restate your hypothesis please.” “Well” Giraffe said, “If you plot a jump to it's last point within the margin of error you then start a new calculation based on data from that exact reference point, then shift the corresponding data to match, that way, especially on a long jump you can compensate for something that could appear while in mid jump.” Zak said, “Wow.” This was a brilliant supposition that no one in the core worlds had even thought of. Panther said, “Testing data stream, writing test program, please wait.” During the wait Zak and Giraffe talked about mundane things like homes, families and Zak's crew. “Several hegmons are on board, one of which is my chief navigator and the grax engineers, they are a married couple and really good at their jobs but, they have troubles getting along with a few of the humans, not sure why but I think it might be more the humans that are causing the problems.”
Giraffe ventured, “Earth humans at least, sometimes stick their noses where they don't belong and it can cause real problems. In fact, that is one reason I am flying solo. For this mission, the guy who was supposed to be along is not only nosy but obnoxious as well, so I took off early, left him behind.” “Ah.” Zak said, “I certainly can believe you doing that, not tolerating much and always wanting to be in charge.” Just then Panther broke in, “Testing results are complete, by incorporating your theory increases jump time by 15 percent every 40 points, increases safety margins by 60 percent and makes jumps in and out of gravity wells theoretically possible.” Zak said, “Wow.” and then, “Wow!” “Zak, I understand why you named the ship after an animal but have said nothing on my nickname being an animal also?” Giraffe asked. Once again Zak was taken aback by her abrupt change of subject and took a second to catch up “Huh, the panther is only a mythical creature and I had no idea that a giraffe was an animal, I thought it was just some word for tall.” Giraffe pondered “Oh, of course you may just not know.”
“On earth a panther is a real animal just as a giraffe is real and, a tall animal.” remarked Giraffe, “I think we need to keep the gray nebula portal and all this wonderful tech a secret from the people of earth, I don't think they are ready for it.” Keeping up with Giraffe was getting to be a real challenge but she was probably right, earth may not be ready thought Zak.
The message had just come through on all channels, earth was not being invaded by aliens! For most of the citizens of earth it was just another day. The whole alien 'thing' was just another stunt to boost ratings for something or another. A small minority took it as a ploy by the aliens to lull earth into a false sense of security before the invasion. They were busy stocking supplies and heading to their bunkers. The governments collectively sighed in relief that no extraordinary efforts would be required of them. After all, emergency services and emergency relief efforts seldom went well and cost a lot of money which in turn, meant raising taxes and, well, meant actually having to work. Threat level zero did not, however, mean the aliens were friendly or indicate what their intentions were.
Admiral Scotts directed space force to remain on alert and directed the first contact message be sent. “Welcome, who are you? why are you here? How may we help you.” Specialist Henry Wadlow was off duty and drinking in the stations one bar with a group of like minded personnel, “It's a set up pure and simple” Henry said, “We have to stop them however possible.” There were murmurs of agreement around the table and Henry said, “We will have an opportunity to act, just wait and watch for now and I'll let you know what and when we can stop these aliens.”
Zak, Giraffe and Panther spent a few hours discussing how best to solve the problem of just how to get Zak and the Panther home. Just executing a blind jump into a gray nebula seemed more than a bit crazy. And just because it worked once from the other end was no guarantee that it would work from the other. Traveling the great distance with jumps was possible but could still take years because it was all uncharted space. Giraffe speculated, “If we could just somehow jump a message buoy at the exact same coordinates the you came in on and, there was someone on the other end to send it back we would have our answer.”
Zak said, “We have single jump message buoys on board, they would have enough power to do the job but who would be on the other end?” “Panther, is the jump to station three verified and ready.” Giraffe asked. “Ready at your command.” replied Panther The plan was to jump close enough to the station to establish audio and video direct communications while remaining in stealth mode and then, after addressing the world, to jump to the station and dock. They knew it would be a shock when they just appeared out of nowhere but there did not seem to be any better way. Zak suddenly grabbed and kissed Giraffe, this was a mistake in a moment of weakness, Zak apologized. After an awkward pause both agreed to keeping things professional between them and would address each other onl
y as captains Johns and McCord, it was a necessary decision. “Panther, execute jump alpha one please” Captain McCord commanded. “My pleasure,” Panther said, “Executing,” And they jumped to just above earths moon.
Aboard battleship three an astute radar operator caught a flash and lock on a target just before it disappeared and he sounded the alarm. “Contact, I repeat contact with object at coordinates...” Commander Smyth ordered the ship to that location at best speed even though the signal had disappeared. He was convinced that the lock had produced a viable object and not just some anomaly. Then the commander notified all ships and stations of the contact and his actions so everyone was all keyed up when the hail came in; “This is EDF captain McCord aboard the CS Panther along with captain Johns of Cyrillium requesting all channel audio and video live feed, over.” First Admiral Scotts responded, “Negative captain McCord, you are ordered to respond only on EDF command channels.” Zak made a slashing motion meaning to stop the communication, Giraffe had already cut it. Zak said, “Your admiral is a smart man, he is trying to control the spin and you are his officer and are obligated to follow commands.” Giraffe replied, “As captain of the CS Panther I am also obligated to it's crew and responsible for it's safety so my loyalties may be divided but even under EDF command my ship must come first.” Then she added, “Panther can you broadcast on frequencies directly to the earth communication satellites?” Panther replied, “Affirmative but it will take a few minutes to reconfigure.”
The Admiral and everyone else on the EDF channel were alarmed by the lack of response to a direct command and tensions were high, waiting and wondering. Commander Smyth was only an hour away from the location that was suspected to be the Panther and asked the Admiral how he should respond if it did come on the Panther and the Admiral simply said, ”Do what you have to do but we want that tech!” On the Panther there was a persistent beeping noise and Zak pointed Giraffe at one of the radar screens “Looks like we have an incoming ship, about one hour out if it is at it's best speed, must have had a good operator to catch us before we stealthed.” “Panther replay their last broadcast please.” Giraffe asked and the playback came on, ”Do what you have to do but we want that tech!” Giraffe just shook her head and sighed, “This is exactly what I was afraid of, that ship is no threat to the Panther but we don't want to test that anyway so, Panther open a channel to EDF command.”The Admiral was not happy and was barking at the station three commander, “Find a way to lure them in and off that ship and we will do the rest!” “Yes sir.” replied General Murphy.
Little did they know that Panther heard every word that was said. Panther broke over the command channel for Giraffe, “This is McCord of the CS Panther and we will be docking shortly at earth station three and hope to have some help on ship repairs any interference would be inadvisable, stand by for a worldwide broadcast, McCord out.” If EDF command was unhappy before they were just plain boiling now. Meanwhile Zak and Giraffe prepared for the world wide broadcast of the first alien contact in history. “Panther are you ready to open broadcast.” “Aye Captain!” she stated, Panther had been absorbing earth broadcasts and her language was getting a little more colorful. “Attention citizens of earth this is EDF captain Mindy McCord on board the alien ship CS Panther along with it's captain, Zak Johns of Cyrillium. Captain Johns is free trader here quite by accident and is asking for help in effecting repairs to his ship so he can get back home. This vessel contains no special technologies and has no armor, it is only a simple cargo hauler.” Then Zak added, “I want to thank EDF for their complete cooperation and especially captain McCord who found me and my ship adrift and rendered not only medical aid but also restored environmental and navigation control, she is now piloting the ship to station three for repairs.
Now that the world knew what was going on it would be hard for anyone to take advantage of them or the Panther. Panther the AI was learning that not all beings could be trusted and was developing routines that could protect the ship and it's two captains as she prepared the ship to make the micro jump to station three dockside. It was spectacular when she jumped and all captured on video for the world to see. One minute stars and with a blinding flash there was Panther sleek and black and twice as long as the EDF battleships. Equally astounding is how quickly the huge ship closed the distance with the station. Panther extended grapple arms and docked with the station. Inside the ship both captains expressed thanks to Panther for her impressive maneuvers and prepared to move to the shuttle and make the short hop into the station. They sealed their helmets and tested the com systems while they waited for the bridge to decompress and they could open the door. They could have set up a docking tube but decided that it may be too tempting to station personnel and the shuttle belonged to the station anyway. When they left the ship, Panther would activate the shields and keep them apprised of anyone trying to gain access. On board the station people were scrambling to clear the single docking bay and the adjoining crew quarters and sealing things off.
Station scientists rightly pointed out that the alien would have to be quarantined as they had no decontamination equipment and even though captain McCord showed no signs of any sickness. Only time and a thorough exam could tell if there was in fact any harmful alien contamination. For some on the station this was a sign to take the Panther. Down on earth Admiral Scotts ordered all three battleships to station three to 'guard' the Panther. Battleship three had been on it's way to the nebula so this meant an almost total u-turn. The presidents were meeting with the admiral to discuss the 'alien” situation. The Panther had appeared out of nowhere and that was technology that they wanted at any price. Even though the ship had holes in it, it was still way more advanced than anything anyone had ever seen. It seemed almost too easy, occupied by only two people and one of them was theirs! Word was put out to assemble the smartest minds in order to reverse engineer the ship as soon as it was in their possession. Meanwhile, up on station three the shuttle bay doors slid open as Giraffe maneuvered the shuttle smoothly into the bay. Now Zak would get to see first hand the level of tech that the earth had, or lack of, there was no gravity in the station, earth had not figured that out yet either.
Ever the diplomat, Zak said to Giraffe, “Interesting facility, it seems to be a work in progress.” With a shrug Giraffe replied, “Yes, well, all I want is a hot shower and some uninterrupted sleep.” After the shuttle bay had atmosphere again they stepped out of the shuttle to be greeted by no one directly, they were all on the other side of the wall looking through the observation window. General Murphy was quick to speak up though, “Sorry for the inconvenience but we will have to leave you in quarantine as our, ah, decontamination unit is, ah, out of order, ah, at this time.” Murphy was a poor liar but it made no difference right now and as Giraffe spotted her friend Stacy looking at her she said, “Hey Stacy could you go to my quarters and get my new jumpsuits, the ones my mom made and General, we are going to need a med scan bed in here so I can run a check on captain Johns shoulder.” Stacy replied, “Sure thing, right away.” The General was glaring and replied coldly, “That is a reasonable request captain McCord we will see to it.” Then Zak piped up, “Thank you General that is all we really need right now, we are both stinky and tired so a hot shower and some uninterrupted sleep will be all for now, I appreciate your hospitality.'”
Giraffe snapped off a salute before they moved off to the crew quarters. Two things impressed Zak, one was the med scan bed even though it was fairly basic and the other was the shear luxury of the zero gravity shower unit. Stacy had delivered the jumpsuits, a tablet and a warning, watch your back. Giraffe had wasted no time shedding all her clothes and getting in the shower unit and Zak was not sure if she realized that he had gotten a good look! When she got out of the shower Zak pretended to look over the med bed while Giraffe slid into undergarments and the genuine wool fleece jumpsuit her mother made, it was too big so she had to roll up the sleeves but the other one should fit Zak. “Your turn Zak and when you
get out just slide into the med bed so I can do a quick check” Giraffe said and then added, “Oh, and the shower is set just hit the chrome button.” Zak decided not to say that he could figure it out himself after he looked at the control panel and just stepped in to enjoy. After the shower he slid into the jumpsuit that was provided and was surprised at how well it fit and how comfortable it was, another small thing these earth people did well.
The med bed turned out to be a little intimidating as it instructed him in how to lie still and the top came down, then the thing began gently poking and prodding and a few pricks let him know blood and fluids had been drawn. When the lid moved up he slid out and put the jumper back on, he was surprised how much better he felt, the machine had treated his bruising and injected basic pain medication as well as antibiotics. “Hey McCord that bed is great ,we should have one on the ship.” Zak said. She replied, “Maybe you can make a deal for one sometime and it is not we, it is your ship.” Giraffe had been busy typing on a tablet communicating with Panther while avoiding any eavesdropping that was going on. She yawned and said, “Things are good on the ship, I am going to get some sleep, I scheduled a wake up for eight earth hours, good night” She shipped into her containment bag and dimmed the lights, Zak did the same, neither seemed to be able to get to sleep despite being up for more than 48 hours. Finally Zak gave up and drifted over to Giraffe and slid into bed with her and just as she was about to speak he kissed her quick, and then, promptly fell into a deep sleep.
Panther and Giraffe Page 3
